A Colorado Garden: A Serene Asian-Inspired Garden

Japanese shoji screens traditionally are made from translucent rice paper, but the owners chose a durable, light-penetrating fabric that will prevail in harsh weather. It allows filtered light without sacrificing privacy. The floor is salvaged pine planks from a park ranger’s mountain cabin, and a round window brings in the garden even when the doors are closed.

Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison

In this shady garden, colorful daylilies, bellflowers and foxgloves blend with the subtle green palette of hostas and several varieties of thyme. Both daylilies and bellflowers thrive in light shade, which often preserves their coloring.

Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison

An aqua bridge, reminiscent of Claude Monet’s garden outside Paris, beckons visitors to enter a private realm. The most colorful plantings line an irrigation ditch paved with flagstones to prevent erosion.

Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison

This “bridge” is a lightweight arch made of bamboo. Each hollow bamboo reed is individually strung to provide a sculptural windchime. The arch was constructed to provide privacy without obstructing the stream.

In late spring, Foxtail lilies’ tall spires rise as high as 50 inches, making a striking foil for shade plants in dappled sunlight. These lilies can be planted in the fall in well-drained soil and mulched throughout the winter.

Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison

Honey locust trees surround the garden, and in early summer their seeds sprout to produce young trees. The partial shade along the stream’s edge provides a perfect incubator for young trees.

Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison

A Japanese stone lantern is nestled among perennials. The lantern top comes off to allow a votive candle to be placed inside.

Photo By Povy Kendal Atchison

Daylilies mass along the stream bank, nodding their blooms in a slight breeze. The tough plants are situated where they most like to be: in moist but well-drained soil with partial shade. While each bloom lasts for only a day, daylilies offer a parade of blooms at the peak of summer.

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